People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
